Health and hygiene

Wellness and Health for the 1920s Dickinson Woman

Date
1923

Compiled by the Dean of Women, Josephine Meredith, the Physical Director of the Y.W.C.A, Catharine Shaefer, and the Chairman of the Health Education Committee of the Y.W.C.A, Kathryn Riley. this pamphlet gives advice regarding the "Five Enemies of Health"- "Constipation, Colds, Cramps, Indigestion, and Worry" along with their causes and treatment.

Denny Ladies' Room Rights

Date
February 26, 1965

In an editorial piece dated February 26, 1965, Joann Hansen expresses her concern witht he state of the women's powder room in Denny Hall. According to Hansen, the room is poorly lit, cold, the pipes dripp, and the women could hear rats crawling in the walls. Moroever, Hansen asserted that males often visit the powder room which does not allow the women a sense of privacy. Thus, Hansen argues that like the rest of Denny, the women's powder room should also be remodeled.

Two Freshman Co-eds Found Almost Perfect

Date
October 5, 1962

An article from October 25, 1928, reprinted in The Dickinsonian's celebration of the college's 90th anniversary, claims that two freshman co-eds were found "almost perfect." Otherwise, physical examinations revealed that the rest of the freshmen women had more than two defects. These defects included being overweight or underweight, having round shoulders or falt feet, "showing" head forward, or having lateral curvature of the spine.

Women's Group Lobbies for Gynecologist

Date
April 18, 1972

The Women's Group drafted a proposal for the hiring of a gynecologist "to serve in the Health Center at least once a week." They sent it to President Howard L. Rubendall for action by the college administration. The Women's Group ascertained from the 39 percent response they received from their questionnaires that 40 percent of the women surveyed currently used birth control and 28 percent had used the Family Planning Clinics in Carlisle or Harrisburg.

Sick and Locked Away

Date
October 5, 1989

Joyce Rinehart Anderson (Class of 1945) reports in an interview that the dean of women, Josephine Brunyate Meredith, locked her in the infirmary when she was sick. The dean feared that Joyce had scarlet fever, but Joyce claims that, in locking her in the infirmary without care, they "practically killed me." According to Anderson, not only did this quarantine cost her a semester in college, but it also led to other problems later in her life.